Banjo of Destiny - Softcover

Fagan, Cary

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1554980860 ISBN 13: 9781554980864

Publisher: Groundwood Books, 2012

Synopsis

Jeremiah Birnbaum lives in a house with nine bathrooms, a games room, an exercise room, an indoor pool, a hot tub, a movie theater, a bowling alley and a tennis court. His parents — a former hotdog vendor and window cleaner who made it big in dental floss — make sure Jeremiah goes to the very best private school, and that he takes lessons in all the things he will need to know how to do as an accomplished and impressive young man. Etiquette lessons, ballroom dancing, watercolor painting. And, of course, classical piano.

Jeremiah wants to please his parents. But one day, by chance, he hears the captivating strains of a different kind of music — the strums, plucks and rhythms of a banjo. It's music that stirs something in Jeremiah's dutiful little soul, and he is suddenly obsessed. So when his parents forbid him to play one, his best friend, Luella, convinces him to learn anyway — even if he has to make the instrument himself.

Accompanied by line drawings by Selçuk Demirel and supplemented by advice and resources on making a homemade banjo, this is a funny, inspiring and timeless story about finding something you love to do, and then setting out, despite all obstacles, to do it.

About this title

About the Author:

Cary Fagan is an award-winning children's author who is known for his timeless, quirky and deceptively simple stories that reveal complex and universal themes. He has also written several adult novels and has been an editor and contributor to several magazines and newspapers, including the Globe and Mail and the Montreal Gazette. His work has won the City of Toronto Book Award and the Jewish Book Committee Prize for Fiction, and he has been a finalist for the TD Canadian Children's Literature Award. He lives in Toronto, Ontario.

Selçuk Demirel was born in Artvin, Turkey, in 1954. He moved to Paris in 1978 and still lives there.

Review:

"[A] sweet, quiet, and neatly packaged tale that emphasizes the importance of hard work and following your dreams in the face of adversity." — School Library Journal

"... Fagan presents a sweet, quiet, and neatly packaged tale that emphasizes the importance of hard work and following your dreams in the face of adversity." —School Library Journal

"This bittersweet novel has just the right touch of wit and creativity to catch and keep the attention of young discerning readers." —Rutgers University Project on Economics and Children

"...this sweet, quirky little book hits all the right notes. Highly recommended." — CM Magazine

About this edition

• Publisher: Groundwood Books
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 1554980860
• ISBN 13: 9781554980864
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 128
• Illustrator: Demirel Selçuk